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Sax Rohmer Number 1
Sax Rohmer #1 is the first song on the album Heretic Pride. The song has an official music video directed by Ace Norton, which can be viewed here. Press Kit notes Sax Romher #1 Written in my cave-like office in Durham. Sax Rohmer wrote pulp spy novels, and there's lots about them that's pretty objectionable; The character Fu Manchu is his best known invention. But there's a feeling of menace and threat in his stories that's kind of addictive, and the tight-frame atmosphere he crafts has a real appeal to it, especially if you're working in a room with concrete floors and without any natural light. Second guitars here, the electric ones, are by Annie Clark of St. Vincent. Lyrics Fog lifts from the harbor, dawn goes down to day An agent crests the shadows of the nearby alleyway Piles of broken bricks, sign posts on the path Every moment points towards the aftermath Yeah ah ah Sailors straggle back from their nights out on the town Hopeless urchins from the city gather around Spies from imperial China wash in with the tide Every battle heads toward surrender on both sides And I am coming home to you With my own blood in my mouth And I am coming home to you If it’s the last thing that I do Bells ring in the tower, wolves howl in the hills Chalk marks show up on a few high windowsills And a rabbit gives up somewhere, and a dozen hawks descend Every moment leads toward its own sad end Yeah ah ah Ships loosed from their moorings capsize and then they’re gone Sailors with no captains watch awhile and then move on And an agent crests the shadows and I head in her direction All roads lead toward the same blocked intersection I am coming home to you With my own blood in my mouth And I am coming home to you If it’s the last thing that I do Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"Rohmer's kind of a problematic guy to be a fan of - him and Lovecraft both are 'products of their time' if you're being polite or 'total racist assholes' if you're being realistic. So, you know, any fanhood I have of his stuff is mitigated by the way he describes Asian characters ('cunning', 'inscrutable', etc, but that's just the tip of the iceberg) - my wife's from Thailand, I can't be down with tired Orientalisms. At the same time, though, the cartoonish danger-lurking-around-every-corner Fu-Manchu-about-to-invade-England-by-sea world he's imagining has this druggy bizarre filmic quality to it - as landscapes go, Rohmer's have got real depth, and texture, and grain. So a lot of the images in that song are stock stuff of the sort that Rohmer could do blindfolded - agents in the shadows, that sort of thing. In that sense, it's a tribute to his skills. But you always want to keep your distance from a dude like Rohmer. I almost changed the title but thought I should not front, I like to go with my first impulses in writing." -- hipstereo interview Things Referenced in this Song * The line "dawn goes down to day" is from Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay". Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2008-02-23 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2008-02-25 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR *2008-03-02 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA *2008-03-15 - Middle East - Cambridge, MA *2008-12-06 - Cambridge Hotel - Newcastle, Australia *2012-04-19 - Benefit to Defeat Amendment One - Motorco - Durham, NC *2012-05-01 - The Bakery - Perth, Australia *2012-09-01 - Front Porch Music Festival - Livermore, CA *2012-10-15 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2014-04-15 - Pearl Street Ballroom - Northampton, MA *2018-05-05 - Sam's Quik Shop - Durham, NC *2019-04-26 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2019-04-27 - Dogfish Head Brewery - Milton, DE *2019-04-28 - Wilbur Theatre - Boston, MA *2019-04-30 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY *2019-05-01 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ *2019-05-03 - L'Astral - Montreal, QC *2019-05-04 - Bronson Centre - Ottawa, ON *2019-05-05 - Phoenix - Toronto, ON *2019-05-07 - Mr. Smalls - Millvale, PA *2019-05-08 - Mr. Smalls - Millvale, PA *2019-05-09 - Woodward Theater - Cincinnati, OH *2019-05-10 - Cannery Ballroom - Nashville, TN *2019-05-11 - Minglewood Hall - Memphis, TN *2019-05-13 - Buskirk-Chumley Theater - Bloomington, IN *2019-05-14 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI *2019-05-15 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL *2019-05-16 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL *2019-05-17 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *2019-07-17 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD *2019-07-18 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD *2019-07-19 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2019-07-20 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2019-07-22 - Asbury Lanes - Asbury Park, NJ *2019-07-23 - The Jefferson - Charlottesville, VA *2019-07-24 - Merge 30 - Carolina Theatre - Durham, NC *2019-08-08 - The Broadberry - Richmond, VA *2019-08-09 - College Street Music Hall - New Haven, CT *2019-08-10 - SummerStage - New York, NY *2019-08-16 - Music in the Mill - Hickory, NC *2019-08-28 - Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT *2019-08-29 - Pink Garter Theatre - Jackson, WY *2019-08-30 - The Pub Station - Billings, MT *2019-08-31 - Top Hat Lounge - Missoula, MT *2019-09-01 - Bing Crosby Theater - Spokane, WA *2019-09-04 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2019-09-05 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA * 2019-09-06 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC * 2019-09-07 - McDonald Theatre - Eugene, OR * 2019-09-09 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR *2019-09-10 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR *2019-09-12 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2019-09-13 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2019-09-14 - Belasco Theater - Los Angeles, CA *2019-09-16 - House of Blues - Anaheim, CA *2019-09-17 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA *2019-09-18 - Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas, NV *2019-12-06 - The Haw River Ballroom - Graham, NC *2019-12-07 - The Haw River Ballroom - Graham, NC Videos of this Song *2008-03-02 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA *2012-10-15 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2019-04-26 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2019-04-30 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY *2019-05-16 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL *2019-09-14 - Belasco Theater - Los Angeles, CA Category:Heretic Pride songs Category:Video